Imagine a life where you have studied for years, tried your best to apply for jobs, only to be told: “We are sorry, we have selected another candidate for the post you have applied for. Thank you for your interest in our company and we wish you all the best for your future.”
That’s the story of Mohamad Sharbini from Sarawak and a whole lot of others who have accepted that rejection letters from potential employers are as mainstream now as the masks we put on when we are going out.
“I am stuck here in KL ever since I graduated late last year. My family wants me to find a job in KL as there are more opportunities here than back in Sarawak. But with the pandemic and all, things are getting tougher,” said this Communications Graduate.
Mohamad is just one of 764,900* unemployed Malaysians who are either not qualified for the posts they have applied for, or are unable to work for other reasons. Whatever the case may be, competition is tough with universities churning out graduates as the months proceed and corporate companies and SMEs are cutting back on new recruitment and concentrating on Specialists with the required skills and experience.
“Closer to home, it’s estimated that many more Malaysians, millions of them, really, will become unemployed over the next six months if nothing is done to help Malaysian SMEs’,” said Suresh Unnikrishnan, Global Partnerships Officer of LTT Global Communications. The company evolved from when the founders were on food distribution outreach programmes during the pandemic.
A global pioneer in Education Technology in the space of Mobile Learning and Learning Experience Portals, Founders Dr Wemel Cumavoo and Rani Wemel – first realized the need to come up with some kind of proactive program when they were distributing these food packs and they decided to step back, analyse and strategize with team members Suresh and Analiz Alias, Digital Learning Consultant, and this is where GetEmployed.Today, founded by LTT Global Communications comes in.
Unimaginable Sufferings
“What we were witnessing when distributing food and groceries are unimaginable sufferings of our unemployed Malaysians first hand. Many had difficulty finding work amid pandemic-related shutdowns and, as a result, struggled to feed their families. We saw people without jobs, people living on the streets, and many others in need and at risk of starvation. Their gratitude was expressed not in words but in tears that spoke a thousand words,” LTT’s Rani Wemel told the New Malaysia Herald.
“The International Labour Organization (ILO) recently mentioned in one of its reports that those who lost their jobs gave up looking for work or were unavailable to work owing to the pandemic, resulting in more people leaving the labour force altogether and becoming “inactive” rather than unemployed,”saidRani who used to teach Law and at the turn of the millennium in 2000, she resigned to spend more time with her children.
“My journey as a businesswoman started from my dining table where in the afternoons once I was free, I developed English lessons within 160 characters to be sent out via SMS on the black and white Nokia. I formed LTT Global together with my husband Dr Wemel with a vision to empower people and transform organizations by making digital learning accessible and affordable for all.
“It was a great vision and I was so excited, I went to the Telcos and asked if we could promote but in the early 2000, they did not see any potential in Mobile Learning, they were more interested in Games, Wall Papers and Ringtones as they were money spinners. One of the Telcos also asked me if I have a Certificate for my SMS-ME-ENGLISH program. Today I do!”
People also used to laugh when she gave them her business card, and asked if she was sure if people could learn from the mobile phones. If only they could foretell the future then!
“As luck would have it, the banks in Malaysia were introducing Internet Banking, so I approached one of the banks if they were keen to introduce my service to their customers, the Bank not only said YES, they also told me to get a few other banks and we launched the SMS-ME-ENGLISH program officially. This made me even more confident as I began to introduce more learning content via SMS. Another ‘aha’ moment happened when TM Blue Hyppo also introduced my program and we became their Preferred Learning Partner.”
As technology evolved, their offerings to customers also evolved from SMS to Digital Learning platforms. Today, 17 challenging years later, they lead a successful Digital Knowledge Curation business that they built from the ground up.
“We have received more than 10 Global Awards and Recognitions since 2007. Our Multi-Award-Winning Learning Platforms have been recognised by the United Nations (in 2017) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) (in 2018) as a proven Capacity Building Platform. We continue to work with leading companies globally to support Sustainable Talent Upskilling,” disclosed Suresh.
“In Malaysia, our Learning Platforms have been endorsed by the Industry Expert Panel and listed in the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) Digital Skills Training Directory. Last year, LTT Global was one of the eight Professional Service Providers to be selected by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to be promoted throughout the Asia Pacific Region in conjunction with APEC 2020. This year, we have been selected to be part of the Jom Transform Program by FinLab-UOB to help SMEs in Malaysia and in the region to embrace digitalization to increase productivity and profitability.”
Suresh meanwhile, took on academic studies majoring in Human Resource Management and thereon, obtained his Post Graduate Diploma and Master of Science. He started his Corporate journey in 1990 and had a successful 15 years of working experience in Management and Senior Management positions in Human Resource Management in sectors such as, Plantations, Chemicals, Engineering, Water Treatment, Transportation, Port Management, FMCG, IT and Insurance. He then decided to pursue Entrepreneurship for the past 16 years.
World-Class Learning Platform
GetEmployed.Today a world-class fully-online structured program provides participants access to LTT Global’s world class learning platform to pick up the mandatory in-demand skills that comes with Certificate of Achievement from Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU) and other global certifications. After the two to six weeks of mandatory training, they may apply for jobs, start something on their own, or do freelance with the skills they have picked up. The program is complemented with counselling, career guidance, coaching and direct links to hiring with the support of our esteemed partners who have come on board with a shared vision to impact the lives of unemployed Malaysians and help them reset their lives. LTT Global will be giving Malaysia’s unemployed the Digital Skills to earn. And they do not need to pay for this.
Employment Readiness
Based on the ILO study, LTT Global’s GetEmployed.Today’s impact project reinvents learning through a structured Employment Readiness Program and is positioned to quickly get people who have lost their jobs or lost their businesses during the pandemic back on their feet. Just training alone is not enough. Many have lost their self-confidence, self-esteem, social skills and need special attention and counseling too. Their Employment Readiness Program helps one to Learn, Earn & Grow. Other features that enhance skills in this program include Mastery Classes and Webinars that are conducted by Universities, Corporates and Expert Individuals.
More details on GetEmployed.Today and how it can assist the unemployed to obtain a new lease life with the help of the project partners and sponsors are available on www.LTTCOM.com.
Datin Hasnah is the co-founder and CEO of New Malaysia Herald based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
With an extensive background in mass communication and journalism, she works on building up New Malaysia Herald and it’s partner sites. A tireless and passionate evangalist, she champions autism studies and support groups.
Datin Hasnah is also the Editor in Chief of New Malaysia Herald.
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